Death in the arena meant you were simply ejected, not truly killed.

Legend had it that this was the Divine Authority of the War God, a power that protected all combatants within the arena.

[Enjoy battle to your heart’s content! Endless, joyous combat!]

Lu Cang gazed at the giant words etched on the gate.

He decided to check out the Gate of the Spectator first.

[Level 3 Warrior: Ice Heaven Monarch — Ice Heaven Snow Realm: 1v1 Duel — 10-win streak. Loser calls me daddy.]

[Level 2: Mist Country — Newbie Assassin looking to get wrecked. Will take on anyone.]

[Level 2 Warrior: Spring of Life — No noobs. Looking for other Warriors.]

[Level 4 Mage: Lava Land — No Assassins. If you’re an Assassin, I’ll kick you immediately. 5-win streak.]

...

Most of them were Level 2 or Level 3 Battle Professions.

There were far fewer at Level 4 and above.

’That makes sense. Level 4 is a major hurdle.’ Out of a thousand people, it was considered good if just two or three made it to Level 4. In contrast, anyone could reach Level 3 with enough effort; it was just a matter of time.

Besides, not everyone chose a Battle Profession.

He encountered Battle Professions frequently mainly because they were active at the Adventurer’s Guild. In reality, only about 5% to 10% of the total population actually chose a Battle Profession as their main Profession.

There were only about a hundred Adventurers permanently stationed in Raine Town.

Still, given the size of the population, Level 4 Reincarnators weren’t exceedingly rare. Level 5 was where they became truly scarce.

He had heard that reaching Level 5 involved a transformation at the very Life Level.

Some matches had already begun, while others were still waiting for challengers.

Lu Cang thought for a moment.

Iz had told him that Professions had counters. Mages feared Assassins most, along with Archers who could attack them from beyond their Casting Range.

The last time he faced an Assassin, he had nearly been taken down.

’I should observe how Assassins fight.’

Lu Cang’s eyes fell on one of the listings: [Level 4 Assassin: Land of Mist — 1v2, looking for experts.]

’1v2?’

’They seem pretty confident. I’ll watch this one.’

He wasn’t particularly interested in the squabbles of Level 2 Assassins.

The Skills and techniques of a Level 4 Assassin were basically direct upgrades to those of a Level 2.

Lu Cang selected that arena and entered.

With a single thought, he found himself in a complex of buildings shrouded in mist.

The buildings rose and fell at odd intervals, reminiscent of Chongqing.

But unlike the city, this place was wreathed in a hazy mist that severely limited visibility.

From his spectator’s viewpoint, however, Lu Cang could see through the mist and make out every detail of the map. The sensation was quite incredible.

When he entered as a spectator, the combatants were just arriving.

An Archer and a Warrior appeared.

The Warrior, who wielded a Heavy Sword, stared at the Assassin. "Taking on two of us?"

"Let’s see if you’re really all that."

The Level 4 Assassin stood silently in the distant mist.

She didn’t waste words.

She just said coolly, "Ready."

A faint green light glowed around the bodies of the two challengers.

[Ready] 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Immediately, the green light turned into a flashing red.

’That must be the signal for the battle to begin.’

The Level 4 Assassin retreated with silent steps, vanishing from her opponents’ sight in just two seconds.

[Assassin Specialty — Invisibility]

"When out of enemy sight, you gradually fade your presence, making you extremely difficult to detect visually. Larger movements while in this state will increase your presence."

All Assassins possessed the Invisibility specialty.

But there were also many ways to break an Assassin’s Invisibility.

The Archer drew his Longbow, aiming for the sky!

He was preparing to fire a Detection Arrow.

But before the Archer could loose his Arrow...

A cold glint of light flashed into existence!

「Tier Four Combat Skill — Thorn」

PFFT!

The Dagger pierced straight through the Archer’s neck, and blood sprayed into the air!

’So close!’

’And so fast.’

After turning invisible, the Assassin had already moved into their blind spot.

Even with the two of them standing nearly back-to-back, she had constantly remained in their blind spot, walking right up to the Archer’s side.

A single, fatal blow.

Lu Cang’s heart clenched as he watched.

’Assassins... they’re far more dangerous than I imagined.’

’If that were me, would I have noticed her?’

’A premonition might have warned me in time.’

’But if an Assassin tried to kill me when I wasn’t expecting it, would I even realize what was happening?’

Lu Cang reflected on his own abilities.

She had killed the Archer in a single blow, but before he fully faded, he tried to launch a final counterattack.

But the Warrior’s sword swung in a furious pursuit!

In doing so, he blocked his own Archer’s final, desperate strike.

BANG!

The two clashed. The Assassin used the force of the blow to launch herself into the distance.

She vanished into the mist once more.

The Warrior’s expression turned grim as he roused his body!

"Haaa!"

"Hya!"

"HRAAAGH!"

Lu Cang didn’t understand what he was yelling about, but he could clearly feel the Warrior’s Qi surging.

His skin was gradually turning crimson.

’A Warrior’s Battle Cry.’

’Too bad the Assassin has already snuck up right beside you.’

The Assassin was standing right behind the Warrior while he was still busy howling at the sky.

PFFT!

The Dagger plunged directly into the Warrior’s back, piercing him clean through. With a twist of the blade, she completely shredded his heart.

THUD—

Just like that, the Warrior collapsed to the ground.

Lu Cang had no idea what good all that yelling had done.

Lu Cang’s lip twitched. ’Are they made of paper?’

The Assassin had ended the fight cleanly with just two strikes. Lu Cang couldn’t gauge the full extent of her power, but he now had a better understanding of an Assassin’s methods.

After that, Lu Cang watched a few more battles in other arenas.

There were even some matches that required a fee to spectate.

A 20 silver coin spectator fee...

’So, this is a way to make money, too.’

After a moment’s thought, Lu Cang paid the fee.

This was a match between a Level 4 Warrior and a Level 4 Mage.

Perhaps because his own main Profession was Mage, watching this Mage fight made Lu Cang frown.

He was so used to his No Chanting Magic that seeing someone else Chanting in the middle of a high-intensity battle felt odd.

’In a battle that can change in an instant, you have to stand still and recite incantations.’

"Cage of a Thousand Trees! Bind!"

"Heaven-Shaking Flames, Engulf!"

"Obliterate! World-Shaking Thunder!"

BOOM!

The two combatants were about five hundred meters apart.

The moment the battle began, the Warrior charged straight toward the Mage.

Halfway there, his path was blocked by countless tenacious vines that suddenly erupted from the ground. He immediately changed direction to flank the Mage, only to be met by a rising fire tornado.

Immediately after, dozens of balls of lightning flickered into existence and shot after him.

’Even though he needs to Chant, he isn’t as passive as I expected.’

’He must have shortened his Chanting time. I wonder if it’s an Effect of his Magic Staff, or if he’s raised his Skill Proficiency to Level 5 or higher.’

In the end, the Mage won the battle.

Control the Scene, Deal Damage, create distance, lay traps... one string of Magic after another. It was actually quite a spectacle.

Lu Cang then watched a few more battles featuring other Professions. Duels never featured Defenders or Healing Mages; after all, if all you could do was take hits, defeat was only a matter of time.

After getting a general understanding of how the various Professions fought...

Lu Cang exited the Gate of the Spectator and walked toward the Gate of Battle.